Annual Report Celebrates Connections

12/1/2011

“A life well lived can be measured by our connections to our world and by our contributions to those whose lives we touch.” That statement of belief introduces the Community Foundation’s most recent annual report which shows the many ways the foundation connects us to each other in Mendocino County.

As I leafed through the finished report, I was fascinated by the “Legacies” section, which shows photos of the donors and the people who are benefiting from the funds they have established or that have been created in their honor. In almost every set of photos we see uncanny physical resemblances, as well as intrinsic connections. I could catch a glimpse of Evelyn Smith’s smile in the photos of the young girls who stand proudly beside their Willits Science Fair display. The endowment fund in Evelyn’s honor continues to assist young science fair winners participate in stateside completions. Similarly the smiles of Bea and Lee Foster make me reflect on how perfectly they would have fit into the group photo from the Potter Valley Cancer walk which the Foster Fund helps to sponsor. Fred Johnson’s beard was even echoed in the photo from the Redwood Coast Senior Center’s food program his fund helps to support!

The scholarship section is equally powerful in showing how donor spirits are carried forward in new generations. In this column I have often described how Community Foundation scholarships look for qualities in the recipients that reflect the attributes of those for whom they are established. Randy Clark’s love of 4H and FFA continues to be embodied in the recipients of the scholarship in his name, as does David Talamo’s love of sports and the Petitte brothers’ love of the outdoors. The connection with the recipients is heartfelt by those who have set up funds to remember these young men.

The grants section celebrates how grants are being used to connect communities, passions and resources. For example, the GED Program in Point Arena connects families who want to improve their lives with volunteers who have donated over 1,000 hours of instructional time. In the process, communities with diverse backgrounds and interests have come closer together. Similarly the Wellness Project in Anderson Valley connects the passion of its leaders for yoga, meditation, physical fitness and art with segments of the population who are not regularly exposed to these activities.

The Community Foundation is set-up to connect resources with projects that enrich our communities. There are many ways to be a part of these connections – by setting aside a percentage of your estate as a way of “giving back” to the community, by giving a current gift of any size to one of the existing funds at the foundation, or by using a Community Foundation grant to mobilize resources that will improve life in your community. To find out more, or if you would like a copy of the annual report, you can email me at Susanne@communityfound.org, or check it out on our website www.communityfound.org.